L98 oil cooler

[bytor]

Changed oil this weekend on my 87 vette and when I removed the old oil filter it unscrewed from the upper threaded section of pipe instead of at the filter itself. Not a big deal, popped the C-clip off and removed the old oil filter and pipe as a unit and unscrewed the filter on the work bench. This gave me an opportunity to study the oil cooler and I came up with a few questions. Here's a pic, (this one is not mine but it shows the cooler threaded pipe and C-clip.)

First, do these type of coolers work well? It would seem there is not much surface area to work with. I couldn't get a good look at the internals but it seems there is fins or washers inside the filter that the oil flows through.

Second, do these ever develop coolant leaks into the oil flow?

 

[grumpyvette]

yes they work, they easily drop the oil temps 15 plus degrees F or more, by running the oil flow alongside but separated from the engine coolant. now they are NOT as effective as a aux cooler because they can,t lower temps to quite as low as engine coolant temp levels,and if you pay attention to your gauges youll generally see oil temps tend to run 15-30 degrees over coolant temps, on most engines. while if you install the AUX oil or trans fluid coolers , with the electric fans ,those can, at least in theory lower temps to outside air temps, or at least to significantly lower levels than the coolant temps. and yes that can easily be 100F LOWER.
Id also point out that swapping to a 7-8 quart oil pan significantly increases the surface heat transfer area and in my experience that significant reduces oil temps all by itself.
Id also point out that adding an auxiliary oil cooler with electric fan ,mated with larger AN#10 oil line size,and use of the longer higher capacity oil filter(s) to any corvette (STOCK OR BIG BLOCK ENGINE SWAP) adds effective oil flow volume to the engine, this can be a HUGE advantage when theres limited room due to ground clearance or header clearance issues that limits the size of the oil pan itself that can be used.

infrared thermometers are a very useful tool to track down issues with tuning, or mal functioning sensors , without verified facts your guessing.
this is the most consistently accurate I.R temp gun I've used for testing
its not that difficult to remove the oil pan, replace the gasket with a new one piece synthetic one and cure that leak,
most guys can do that in a single afternoon with the car up on 4 12 ton jack stands rather easily.
be aware that the crank counter weights rotated to the correct location makes removing the oil pan a bit easier.
it might be a great opportunity to swap to a higher capacity baffled oil pan.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/ctr-15-240/overview/make/chevrolet/model/corvette
7" deep

https://www.cantonracingproducts.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=11-102
6.5" deep


https://www.carid.com/moroso/oil-pa...MIraOQn-602QIVBJ7ACh2mTwt4EAQYAyABEgJZWfD_BwE

7" deep

theres lots of 8" and 8.25" deep corvette oil pans but they don,t last too long with speed bumps and raised manhole cover rims


https://www.summitracing.com/parts/...MIytnIx-y02QIVHrjACh35mQ-OEAQYASABEgJnZvD_BwE

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...etic-oil-cause-leaky-gaskets.2725/#post-13817

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/under-car-safety.26/page-4#post-69999

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...-pan-gasket-still-small-leak.3084/#post-11971

http://www.testequipmentdepot.com/e...1100200223789&utm_content=All Extech Products
INFRARED TEMP GUN
Wide temperature range from -58 to 1832°F (-50 to 1000°C)
any time that your dealing with a potential temperature issue or a trouble issue where , knowing the exact temperature vs what a gauge might say, it helps to have a handy and accurate infrared temp gun handy to locate and confirm heat, levels.
my 1985 corvette came with a factory oil cooler, that runs engine coolant through separate but contacting internal passages, this warms the oil faster getting it flowing but tends to reduce the heat engine oil can reach as it absorbs oil heat effectively transferring it too the engine coolant on the car, where its transferred too air flow through the radiator

obviously this cooler mounts between the block and oil filter and runs coolant through separate passages with a common wall to the oil flow so the coolant which is generally 10F-20F cooler than the oil will absorb some of the oils heat load. (use of the extra long oil filter, and a larger capacity baffled oil pan, also helps as it exposes more surface area to cooler under the car air flow)

remember theres two different gasket designs on the SBC the guy may have tried to install the wrong one
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...etic-oil-cause-leaky-gaskets.2725/#post-13817

http://www.superchevy.com/how-to/15044-1991-chevrolet-corvette-oil-cooler-maintenance/

http://www.batinc.net/mocal-central.htm
http://www.mocal.co.uk/FAQ.html
http://www.batinc.net/laminova.htm

swapping to a higher capacity baffled oil pan, thats no more than 7.5" deep for road clearance adds reliability

read the links and sub-links
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/unwanted-engine-bay-heat.12186/#post-59072

viewtopic.php?f=57&t=176

viewtopic.php?f=54&t=2080&p=22579&hilit=long+filters#p22579

viewtopic.php?f=80&t=10514

viewtopic.php?f=32&t=3071

viewtopic.php?f=32&t=3954

viewtopic.php?f=54&t=6327

viewtopic.php?f=54&t=5037

viewtopic.php?f=54&t=2710

viewtopic.php?f=54&t=296

 

[87vette81big]

A Similar Oil Cooler is used on all Ford 5.4 & 6.8L V10 Triton Truck engines.

I have a spare L98 Oil cooler put away.
My 87 vert has it. Z52 option.
Z51 & Z52 vettes had the oil cooler stock.